Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an air vent having a housing, having a first control element and a second control element, wherein the housing forms a flow passage, wherein the first control element is supported on the housing so as to be rotatable about a first axis of rotation and the second control element is supported on the housing so as to be rotatable about a second axis of rotation, wherein the second axis of rotation is perpendicular to the first axis of rotation.
Description of the Background Art
Air vents are used to direct a flow of air and in some cases to influence it. This may be a flow of air in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, for example. In this context, a distinction can be drawn between directed and diffuse air flows, in particular. Diffuse air flows can be produced in air vents by air deflection elements introduced into the air stream.
Stacks of annular disks are used as air deflection elements, for example. They can be rotated relative to one another about a common axis, by which means the air flow within the air vent is influenced such that a diffuse air flow emerges at the outlet of the air vent.
It is a particular disadvantage of the prior art solutions that a horizontal adjustment of the air vent also affects the choice of flow mode. Because of the engineering design of the prior art air vents, the two basic functions of mode selection (focused or diffuse) and orientation of the air flow in the horizontal direction (right or left) oftentimes are coupled together in such a manner that changing one of the functions also retroactively affects the other function.
Solutions are known in the prior art that provide complex kinematic mechanisms to ensure decoupling of the two basic functions. These kinematic mechanisms make the construction of the air vent complex and costly. Moreover, the kinematic mechanisms are failure-prone and require increased installation space.